Auguste Xavier LeBlanc
Auguste Xavier LeBlanc, 8th Duke of Verteoux Age: 46 Birthday: 7 Logiscae Affiliations: Bastion Council of Lords, Bastion Nobility Physical Description: His Grace, the Duke of Verteoux is a small man, barely rising above 5'5" and weighing 130 pounds soaking wet. Despite his small stature he commands attention and respect just with his presence. A glare from his icy blue eyes can cause the largest of men to cower, and a lighthearted laugh can calm even the ugliest of quarrels. Of course, this is not due to any natural charisma or force of personality possessed by the duke, but as a result of his subtle manipulation of peoples feelings due to his powerful enchantment magic. The Duke has managed to age remarkably well, even for one of the nobility. Unless otherwise informed, someone not familiar with him would say that he isn't a day over 30. Auguste is a man of wealth, and makes sure to dress like it. He would never be caught in anything other than garments of the finest materials. Some might even call him a dandy, but never to his face. He considers himself to be a trend setter, wearing the latest styles or even commissioning new ones if the current trends aren't to his liking. Personality: Icy is the only appropriate word to describe Auguste's (lack of) personality. His father went off to join in the War of Three Chimeras when Auguste was 8, leaving the young boy in charge of a handful of brothers and sisters. Of course there were many servants and nannies and even the Duchess, his mother, to help take care of the children, but Auguste took it upon himself to be man of the house in his father's absence. Because of these circumstances, Auguste was used to his orders being followed from a young age. As such, he does not respond well to being disobeyed. The easiest way to get on his bad side is to tell him no. Auguste never performed well in school, passing only because his teachers were afraid to fail a student of such high birth. The Duke has always been self conscious of his lack of intellect, and has made up for it by surrounding himself with trusted advisers, to "assist" in making the difficult decisions for him. History: Auguste was born in the spring of 1172, during the early stages of the War of the Three Chimeras. Despite the war, Auguste led a charmed life in the beautiful Verteoux region of Celan for his first few years. When the boy was 8, during the 10th year of the war, his father, the 7th Duke of Verteoux, left to command an army comprised of soldiers from Verteoux and it's allies. This left Auguste, the eldest of his father's 3 sons and 2 daughters, as the nominal head of the family until his father returned. There isn't much an 8 year old can do to run a duchy and Auguste's lack of intelligence didn't make matters any easier. Luckily for Verteoux, an 8 year old's mother has much more control of him than he'd like. So for the next 10 years the duchy was overseen by the 7th Duchess. These 10 years were largely uneventful in Auguste's life. He went to school, and was passed from teacher to teacher, even if he actually learned very little. When Auguste was 18, and about to join the war effort himself, to be taught the ways of command by his father, a peace treaty was signed, and a war that had been raging for all of Auguste's life had come to an end. With the end of the war and the arrival of his father back home, Auguste was sent off to Bastion to attend its prestigious university. There he performed just a poorly as he had in his earlier days of schooling. He only managed to pass through generous bribes and threats from his father. His poor performance in school doesn't mean that he accomplished nothing during this time. In fact, he became friends with many young men who would inherit lands and titles just as glorious as his own. So Auguste's time at university was time well spent. In fact, one of the most important moments of his life occurred during his final year. One day while doing research for one of his classes, Auguste stumbled upon references to an ancient book that detailed a method to extract and gain the magical abilities of other mages. This greatly intrigued Auguste because no one in his family line had ever been able to perform magic. Over the next few months he became obsessed with being the first member of his family to ever wield magic. That is what he wanted to be remembered for, being the first Duke of Verteoux to command the mighty forces of nature and bend them to his will. Over many weeks of research, Auguste found that the book was called Libro Latrocinio Artium Arcanorum. This began his 8 year long quest for the book. Over the next 8 years he used his considerable wealth and status to track down the whereabouts of the tome. He finally tracked it down to a book collector in Vivexia's capital. He ventured there alone, in the guise of a wandering merchant. When he finally came to the collector's home, intent of purchasing the book, he found the collector unwilling to part with any of his vast collection. At this refusal Auguste flew into a fit of rage and bludgeoned the elderly collector to death with a paperweight from the man's desk. When the rage ended and Auguste came to his senses, he quickly grabbed the book he was after and fled Vivexia, afraid he'd have to answer for his crimes. When Auguste was safely home and securely locked in his private chambers, he began to attempt to decipher the book. After spending many hours and attaining very little, frustrated he exclaimed, " At this rate I'll never be able to translate this. If only I could trust someone else to do it for me." From the shadows came a voice so quiet it was almost a whisper, "I might be able to help you with that, your grace." And out of the shadows stepped a pale skinned young man, "I am Analmalech, a being of power who was summoned to this world when you slew that old man back in Vivexia. Because you brought me here, I thought it only right to vow my allegiance to you, my master." Startled but excited to have someone knowledgeable to assist, Auguste quickly accepted the creature's offer. Had Auguste paid attention in his lessons earlier in life he'd have realized that this creature was a Lust demon who was brought to this world when Auguste's lust for power caused him to murder the old man. More importantly he'd realize that this demon was not bound to him, and in fact, was using him for its own purposes. Happily unaware of the dangers his new ally presented, Auguste quickly learned the ritual that would allow him to drain out of the body of a mage. Of course, this killed the mage, but sacrifices had to be made in the name of progress. Auguste easily found a young woman who was accused of being an enchantress. He wasted no time in preparing the materials necessary for this ritual, and quietly had the woman brought to him. Over the course of the next several hours Auguste and Analmalech performed the ritual preparing Auguste to receive the powers of the woman. Precisely at midnight Auguste plunged a knife into the woman's heart, and slew her. He immediately felt the woman's power course through his veins like fire. He was too excited to pay any mind to the pain, and the first thing he did with his new powers was to convince his beloved father, an avid swimmer, to take a refreshing swim in the lake. Sadly, it was the middle of winter and his father, the 7th Duke of Verteoux, caught a chill, a died hours later of hypothermia. Now the new Duke of Verteoux, Auguste, wasted no time using this to his advantage. With Analmalech's assistance it was easy to frame one of the late Duke's mistresses with bewitching him. After there was of course a trial, and the woman was found guilty and executed for being an enchantress. With any suspicion gone, Auguste wasted no time in enacting a new campaign to rid Verteoux of its enchanting problem, enacted in memory of the late duke. Auguste did not let the deaths of these enchanters go to waste. No, he made sure it was known that he personally killed them. What was not known to anyone else, was that he and Analmalech drained their magic as part of the execution process. Over the course of the next 16 years Auguste grew in power and subtlety. He believed himself to be the most powerful enchanter in Bastion, and decided to move on to other forms of magic. Analmalech convinced him that he'd have an easier time doing this in the city of Bastion, instead of being out in the country. After all, in such a large city who would care if a few mages went missing now and then? Advantages: Nobility: Duke 4 Low Social Enchantment Magic III 12 High Social, Low Utility Subtle Mage III 3 Low Utility Wealth III 3 Low Social Ageless 1 Low Social: As a result of the ritual used to steal magic, Auguste absorbs the life force of his sacrifice and does not appear to naturally age. He believes that this will allow him to live forever, however it is actually just cosmetic. He will still die of old age when his time comes. Guards: Soldier I 5 All Combat Ranges, Mid utility Gear 1 3 All Combat Ranges Armor I 3 All Combat Ranges Locus: Bastion Manor (not sure of the actual costs, I based mine off of Sturmbhat Estate.) Size II 2 Guards I 2 1/2 for building 2 total.